A real comparison of moving company prices

I’m right there with you. I can only imagine what you’ve been going through…searching the Internet looking at all sorts of moving companies and not really knowing how they compare to one another. Well, that stops here. The real scoop is this - the price of hiring a moving company depends on what you need and want for your move. You can do all the work yourself, do none of the work yourself, or split the job right up the middle. It’s really up to you and what your moving budget will allow. Here’s a helpful comparison of moving company prices so you can make the best choice when it comes time to book your move.

Full Service Prices

With full-service moving, you just sit down and let someone else take care of it all. While that’s nice of them to do that for you, the reality is that for many people, the price just doesn’t fit the budget. If you want to compare full-service to the other options, you’ll have to get an in-home estimate to see your price since it’s all based on how much your belongings weigh. Typically, full-service is the most expensive kind of moving company.

Truck Rental Prices

I think people gravitate to truck rental because they know that it’s typically cheap to rent a truck and move locally, so they naturally think it will be cheap to do the same for a long-distance move, too. But that’s not always the case.

Fuel prices are high right now and filling up a large rental truck can get expensive quick. A move from San Francisco to Chicago, for example, could cost more than $1,000 for fuel. This fuel estimator can show you what you can expect gas to cost for your move in a rental truck; just enter in where you’re moving from and to and bingo – there you have it.

On top of fuel and the price to rent the truck, you should also consider how much you’ll pay for sales tax and any “add-ons” like damage protection, a tow dolly for your personal vehicle, and moving supplies for your move.

“You Pack, We Drive” Prices

Since U-Pack is the “you pack, we drive” moving company I’m most familiar with, that’s where I’ll focus in on. What’s interesting about the “you pack, we drive” option is that in some cases, U-Pack® will be cheaper or similar in price than using a rental truck. It really just depends on your moving situation.

Compared to full-service, U-Pack is able to offer access to affordable help loading or unloading for one or both ends of your move, often for a fraction of the cost of a full-service moving company. Another big way U-Pack differs from full-service is how you pay. Full-service makes you pay by the weight of your things, while U-Pack charges you for the amount of space your things use.

For example, if you choose the moving trailer, you pay for the linear footage your belongings take up inside. If you use the ReloCube® container, you pay for the number of Cubes you use regardless of how many you reserve. It gives you control of the price, not the other way around.

If you need help determining how big your move is, U-Pack’s space estimator tool can help you estimate.

With U-Pack you don’t have to pay extra for things like fuel, taxes, and standard liability coverage. You do have to pay extra for these things with truck rental. And since U-Pack arranges the transportation for you, you can drive your personal vehicle to your new home instead of towing behind a rental truck. That’s great news for a lot of people.

What’s my price to move?

Now that you have a good knowledge of the moving company prices associated with full-service, truck rental, and “you pack, we drive” moving companies, you can start getting quotes to see your specific price to move. I think you’ll find, like many people moving long-distance, letting someone else do the driving while still paying a similar rate to truck rental is an ideal way to move.

If you have more questions, let us know in the comments section, click the Ask the Experts tool here and get a personal response within 24 hours, or, give us a call at 800-413-4799.